Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vibration wave motor, and more particularly, to a linear vibration wave motor including a plate-shaped elastic body, and a lens driving apparatus using the linear vibration wave motor.
Description of the Related Art
Heretofore, vibration wave motors characterized by enabling a reduction in size and weight, high-speed driving, and silent driving have been employed as, for example, actuators for a lens barrel of an imaging device. Among these motors, a vibration wave motor for linear driving as described below is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-126692.
The vibration wave motor disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-126692 includes a vibrator including a piezoelectric element and an elastic body, a friction member that comes into frictional contact with the vibrator, and a holding member that holds the vibrator. A high-frequency vibration is generated on the vibrator and an elliptic motion is generated on a leading end of a protrusion provided on the vibrator, thereby enabling the vibrator to be moved relatively to the friction member. The vibrator is fixed to the holding member, so that a driving force of the vibrator can be transmitted to the outside through the holding member.